You read that headline and you think this cannot be – not in 2020. So it has to be a trick or a lie. It is neither. It may not be what they called it, but that is what it is – an endorsement of home schooling.

Certainly, this likely would never have happened without a worldwide pandemic that brought New York to its knees. The NYT would have gone on with their delusional support of their state’s public-school system costing per pupil on average $23,091. That is 89% above the national average as of 2017. The undying support of malfunctioning public schools rivals their unfettered support for unlimited abortion as something that cannot ever be questioned. In New York City, the average cost per pupil was even higher (as of 2017) at $25,199.

Needless to say it was quite shocking to read this position in the “Paper of Record.” Moreover, it was surprising the position was not being voiced by any of their litany of writers. Rather it was voiced on May 5 by James Bennet, the Editorial Page Editor. One cannot get any higher than that for something like this than perhaps the publisher.

Bennet does a daily summary called Opinion Today. This is due to the fact… Read More

Recently I wrote a column about an interchange with a liberal white person about race. On the heels of that a Black man addressed his thoughts to me about some racial issues. Here is the exchange.

“I hope you and family are well. This is an old article, yet I have always felt professionally written article. I am curious as to your perspective. The confederate ‘heroes’ and that colorful flag that is so proudly defended is no different to African Americans than Nazism and swastikas. It is tantamount to honoring Mussolini, Stalin, Hirohito or Pol Pot. The rhetoric to maintain them for historical sake is beyond me.”

Politico Story

My reply:

That is easy. The flag should go. I never understood that. The question on statues and naming of forts is more complicated. The generals served the country before and some after the war. Some were instrumental in healing the divide after the war. They were classmates, for the most part, of the generals in the union army at West Point. Their relationships were pivotal after the… Read More

On January 1, 2020 a new law – AB 5 – took effect in California. Immediately, the effects of the legislation were felt across California’s workforce, as well as its legal climate. It’s clear now that this assembly bill is nothing more than an experiment gone wrong and that it must be eliminated.

AB 5 was written by San Diego Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez. It codifies into law the Supreme Court of California case, Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Dynamex created a new ABC test that serves to determine whether a worker should be classified as an employee instead of an independent contractor. By design, the test results in millions of California independent contractors being reclassified as employees.

What does it mean to be reclassified as an employee as opposed to an independent contractor? Ultimately, the reclassification is for wage and hour laws purposes. This could mean workers compensation, social security taxes, Medicare taxes, disability insurance and health benefits – none of which come into play for an independent contractor – all fall to the company. In other words, it is far more expensive to hire an… Read More

Here is a stunning chart demonstrating the incredible success of Success Academy Charter Schools in New York. Most are located in NYC and have almost all low income minority students. These relatively few schools DOMINATE the entire NY state K-12 schools’ student rankings. Study it in detail.

The chart provided by Professor Mark Perry and the American Enterprise Institute provides the summary data referenced in a recentWALL ST JOURNAL articleby the inimitable Thomas Sowell. Also included below are some “money quotes” from Dr. Sowell’s op-ed.

Note that of the 2,405 K-12 in the state, Success Academies constitute 20 of the top 30 schools’ average student scores. Compare Success Academies with the other top schools. Look at the demographics. Look at… Read More

It has become unfashionable to challenge commentary about race matters because free speech is now a passé value. To question the “conventional” line has been abrogated. But when one is an avowed anti-racist and has read extensively on the subject, one might be willing to take on liberal mantras. When I encountered someone of significance in the community, it was easy to take the challenge.

After a statement on race offered by the other person, I addressed this as follows: Please identify one person that you know who is a racist. You know systemic racism exists, but can you point to someone who is anti-black?

In your “education” of challenges in the Black community, can you name one book you have read by Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Shelby Steele, Jason Riley, Deroy Murdock or Larry Elder? They are all Black scholars, most if not all with extensive studies on the subject of their race.

If you can’t, you have zero authority to pontificate on these matters. If you are really interested in learning the truth about the Black Community, then I am happy to have books by these knowledgeable authors delivered to your office at our expense. You can… Read More

Once upon a time we had a President who said, “Elections have consequences.” That is a true statement, one of the few he made. There have been many calls from people stating that defunding the police is nutso, crazy, wacko, dangerous. Is that for us to say? The people elected these officials and they should live with the decisions they made.

The dichotomy between Republicans and Democrats regarding the police could not be more pronounced. Republicans support the police, but not police unions. Democrats support police unions, but not the police. This is the essence from which this issue radiates

Jacob Frey is the Mayor of Minneapolis. He was elected Mayor at the age of 36. One could say that if he is qualified; why should he not have the office? If he understands the city and the people who voted for him, then why not? Frey had been a resident of the city eight years when elected its mayor, four years when elected to the city council. Frey was elected to the city council on the basis of his overwhelming support of 3,722 residents. His four years on the city council and his vast knowledge of Minneapolis gained from his residency to date of eight years propelled… Read More

It is true…Black Lives Matter… It is true…All Lives Matter… It is true…Blue Lives Matter… It is true… racism exists… It is true…almost all police officers are good and honorable people trying to keep their communities safe… It is true…almost all people are good, loving, honorable people who treat others with respect and dignity… It is true…no one is helped when government and social institutions put their thumb on the scale of justice to harm or benefit anyone on the basis of their race…

What happened to George Floyd, no matter what his background, was wrong. The rioting and looting in response to the criminal behavior of the police officer in Minnesota that apparently killed Floyd, however, is criminal. I believe in protesting. March in the streets all you want, say whatever you want, but don’t vandalize, don’t loot, don’t threaten others with violence. That is criminal, and should be treated as such, without discrimination as to the content of the speech. On this question, I think all agree.

So, How did we get to this… Read More

Here’s a crucial2019academic peer reviewed study that finds that police shootings are overwhelmingly justified, and are NOT racially biased. Soooo, why has this study never made front page news?

Simply stated, it doesn’t fit the liberal/MSM narrative. I searched Google for the leading professor’s name. There were ZERO MSM stories in the first two Google pages.

I suspect the liberal professors who published this study have ruined their academic careers. It would be awkward for the universities to fire them, so instead they simply will never be promoted. I’m sure the authors understood this probable penalty before releasing their results — which makes these researchers gutsy academics. Such courage in academia is indeed rare today.

Note that these profs are not from backwater colleges. It’s from profs at Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Maryland.

In the summarizing article below from MSU, I’ve highlighted (inbold) what I deem to be the salient points. The article also includes a link to the actual study.

Let’s be clear: There ARE instances of… Read More